Parent-adolescent conflict and adolescent antisocial and prosocial behavior: a longitudinal study in a Chinese context

This longitudinal study examined the relationships between parent-adolescent conflict and antisocial and prosocial behavior in Chinese adolescents. Results showed that father-adolescent conflict and mother-adolescent conflict were concurrently related to adolescent antisocial and prosocial behavior. Longitudinal analyses showed that parent-adolescent conflict predicted antisocial behavior but not prosocial behavior. Adolescent antisocial and prosocial behavior was also found to be related to father-adolescent conflict across time. The findings suggest that the linkage between father-adolescent conflict and adolescent social behavior is stronger than that between mother-adolescent conflict and adolescent social behavior.